99.7% sure says one scientist but others hedge: A distant watery planet possibly brimming with life

“These are the first hints we are seeing of an alien world that is possibly inhabited,” [Nikku Madhusudhan of the University of Cambridge’s Institute of Astronomy] told reporters in a press briefing. “This is a revolutionary moment.”

[T]he purportedly tell-tale gases that appear to be in this planet’s atmosphere are either dimethyl sulfide, dimethyl disulfide, or some combination of the two. On Earth, these are only produced by life, particularly by marine microbes. Madhusudhan, despite his enthusiasm, noted that the detection of these gases needs to be confirmed with more telescope observations. And other astronomers are skeptical.

…

K2-18b orbits a cool dwarf star that lies about 124 light years away, in the constellation of Leo. The planet is found in the “Goldilocks zone” around the star, where temperatures are not too hot and not too cold to have liquid water and, presumably, possible life. … [T]hey … saw hints of dimethyl sulfide. This sulfur-based molecule is seen as a potential indicator of life because on Earth, it’s only made by living things such as ocean phytoplankton.

This is an excerpt. Read the original post here